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Luke glanced downwards at his rumpled clothes—a fine cotton shirt and dress trousers—not exactly made for the beach. He grimaced as he thought of the contents of his suitcase—more shirts, suits and ties. Clothes designed to wear at a professional conference to impress. No casual clothes at all. Certainly nothing suitable for a beach.
He turned his head towards the ocean view outside. The early sunrise sent shimmers of pink and orange glistening across the cove waters. It was going to be a gorgeous day.
‘Think you can manage to spend the day with a family, bachelor boy?’ It was a loaded question and Abby didn’t wait for his response but turned on her heel and headed back into the kitchen.
Luke watched her retreating back, in her figure-hugging shorts and skimpy T-shirt. He could only imagine what she’d look like in a bikini. It was a sight he didn’t want to miss. ‘You bet,’ he murmured as he followed her indoors.
An hour later they were in one of the local stores. Abby flicked through the rails. ‘Nope, nope, no, no …’ She gave him a cursory glance as the clothes hangers practically skidded along the rails. ‘Ahh, this one.’ She held up a purple T-shirt and tossed it in his direction with a nod of approval, before moving over to the clothes stand with stacks of folded shorts.
Luke shook his head in bewilderment at the mirror, as he held the T-shirt up in front of him. He gave a little smile. The colouring and style were perfect for him, he squinted at the label—yes, it was the right size, the woman hadn’t lost her touch.
He heard a loud sigh at his feet. Reuben was sitting on the floor, bucket and spade in hand, looking extremely bored. ‘She does this with me too.’
‘Does what?’
‘Picks all my clothes.’ He shook his little blond head. ‘It’s best not to argue or we’ll be here for ever.’
Luke let out a roar of laughter. Spoken like a man who knew which battles to fight. Reuben screwed up his nose as he stared at Luke’s purple T-shirt, ‘She usually picks good stuff. You should be okay.’
‘Okay for what?’ Abby appeared at their sides, clutching two pairs of knee-length shorts in her hands. She pointed towards the nearby changing room. ‘Go and make sure these fit,’ she said, thrusting the shorts in his direction.
He raised his eyebrow at her. ‘What’s wrong, Abs, worried you’ve forgotten what size I am?’
She rolled her eyes at his innuendo-laden question, before giving him a naughty smile of her own. ‘Heads up, little guy.’ She tapped Reuben on the shoulder. ‘I’ve decided that you can pick Luke’s swimwear.’
She pointed towards a rail loaded with various styles of swimming shorts and trunks. Luke gulped. The neon bright colors were already hurting his eyes from a distance.
‘Cool,’ mumbled Reuben, before heading over towards the rail.
‘You don’t mind—do you, Luke?’
He shook his head quickly before ducking inside the changing room. ‘Please, please, don’t let it be the tiny trunks,’ he muttered as he pushed his legs into the shorts Abby had picked for him. In less than thirty seconds he was done. Both sets of shorts were perfect for the beach, loose fitting and ending just above his knees.
He stuck his head back out the changing room. ‘The shorts are fine, but do I only get one T-sh—’ He stopped. Abby had already picked out another two T-shirts for him. She stared down at his long legs. ‘The shorts are nice …’ she smiled ‘…but we really need to do something about those shoes.’
Luke laughed and followed her gaze. Beach shorts and black leather Italian shoes really didn’t mix.
‘I’ve found you the best pair of swimmers ever, Luke!’ Reuben rushed over, holding the brightly coloured shorts in front of him. ‘Whaddya think?’
Luke lifted them from his small hands. Just as he’d feared. Bright green neon ninja turtles. The little face was staring up at him, so pleased with the item that he’d found. Waiting for him to say something.
Abby frowned as she reached over and fingered the swim shorts. ‘These look just like yours, Reuben.’
‘I know!’ he shouted. ‘We’ll be a match! Isn’t that cool?’
Luke’s eyes drifted between Reuben and Abby. He couldn’t read the expression on her face. It was almost as if she wasn’t quite sure how to react, what to say. Not like Abby at all. But he could read the expression on Reuben’s face and he didn’t hesitate.
‘These look fabulous, Reuben. I love them.’
‘You do?’
‘Sure I do. Now give me two minutes so I can pay for all this stuff.’
Luke pulled the labels off the T-shirt and shorts that he was wearing and handed them to the cashier, along with the other items.
Two minutes later they left with his crumpled shirt and dress trousers stuffed into one of the plastic bags.
Abby ran her eyes up and down the length of him. Something prickled under her gaze. Something thankfully hidden beneath baggy beach shorts. She knew him better than he knew himself.
Another hour later they were on the beach, lying on their matching ninja turtle beach towels. Luke pulled off his newly purchased sneakers and exposed his hot feet to the cool air around them.
‘You didn’t have to do that.’
‘Do what?’
She stuck the parasol into the sand and tilted it towards Reuben’s towel to shade him from the sun. ‘Buy all this stuff.’ She pointed to the items lying around them.
Luke leaned towards her. ‘I’ll have you know that I’ve always wanted a ninja turtle towel. They just didn’t seem to have them anywhere in Washington.’ He lay back, raising his hands to shade his face from the sun. ‘I guess I just lucked out, coming here.’
‘I guess you did.’
The words seemed to hang in the air between them, the meaning more than either one could say. Abby bit her bottom lip. Today was so different for her. Usually when she and Reuben came to the beach, they came alone. But Luke’s presence was everywhere, and it wasn’t just his muscular frame.
She’d noticed a difference in Reuben, how he was acting. He kept giving sidelong glances at Luke, looking for his approval on what towel he wanted, what ice cream he picked, what path they chose to walk to the beach.
And it was uncomfortable. She was used to being the centre of Reuben’s whole world—as he was hers—and something about this just didn’t feel right. She wasn’t used to him asking someone else’s opinion or considering someone else’s point of view. She made all the decisions for the two of them. It was her word that was law. Her hand that he held. Her permission that he sought.
r /> Abby gave herself a shake. This was silly. Luke was only here for a few days. He was a novelty to Reuben, a novelty that would soon wear off when Reuben realised that Luke wasn’t really interested in him.
Her eyes drifted over to the water’s edge. Reuben had met some other kids and was busy making mud pies—his favorite hobby every time they came here. Pelican Cove was lucky, they had lifeguards who patrolled the beach during the summer season, both for the families and for the ardent surfers who spent most of the day on the waves.
There were lots of families here, all resting back and enjoying their time at the beach.
Families.
Something about the word made her uncomfortable again. She cast her eyes around the beach. Would other people think they were a family? A happy mom, dad and son spending a day at the beach?
Her eyes fell on Luke as he leaned back with his eyes closed on the towel. With his white-blond hair and matching swimwear it was likely that people would assume he was Reuben’s father. She bit her lip.
But he wasn’t. And he hadn’t wanted to be. He hadn’t wanted to be a father to any child. So why was he here playing happy families with her today?
Abby gave a sigh and leaned back against her towel. There was no point in thinking about this. There was no point in over-analysing things. What was done was done. In a few days’ time Luke would be gone again. So maybe she should just focus on the good. The companionship. The warmth, the comfort and the passion. It could be a long time before she felt those things again.
Luke was dreaming. Or maybe it was daydreaming. The sun was beating down on his skin and if he just turned on his side and reached out there was a warm body next to his. A warm body that arched, then fitted comfortably next to his, sliding into place as if it was always meant to be there, easing tight butt cheeks right against his …
‘Luke!’
The enthusiastic voice pulled him from the wonderland he’d been inhabiting, jerking him back to present day and time. Or maybe he hadn’t been dreaming. His body was spooned around Abby’s, his hand wrapped tightly around her waist. Now, if he just lifted his hand a little more and slipped it underneath her shirt …
